Editorial: Beware the extremists in this election

Election time is here, and the liars are out in force… in your mailbox, on television, on social media. Evil permeates the air, stoking fear and anger. This primary season, voters of both parties need to cut through the hysteria and look for candidates who will truly work for what is best for Texas and America.

Ronald Reagan was – and still is – the greatest president of my lifetime. He helped shape my conservative libertarian philosophy. He promoted freedom, decried excessive government, and championed the good things that made America “a shining city on a hill.”
As a member of College Republicans at Texas Tech in the early 1990s, I was fortunate to get to meet and help campaign for some phenomenal leaders – Phil Gramm, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, George W. Bush, Robert Duncan, and Clarendon’s own Mac Thornberry. These were true conservatives who believed in limited government and fiscal restraint, but who more importantly believed in the Constitution and all it represents.

They did not all agree on everything (the party did not require that at the time), and they would often reach across the aisle to find common ground to benefit their constituents regardless of party affiliation. They were each standard bearers of the Reagan Revolution with unblemished conservative credentials. Today, they would be called RINOs – Republicans In Name Only, and rich Christian Nationalists would do their best to destroy their reputations.

Which brings us to Rep. Ken King of Canadian. King is a Texas Panhandle native, a stand-up citizen and businessman, and a person who shares the fundamental values of this area. There have been times when I did not agree with a vote here or there that Ken King cast in the Legislature, but one thing you can be sure of – he stands for what he thinks is right and what is best for his constituents even, as my Memaw would have said, “if it hare-lips the governor.”

That gumption, that courage, that commitment to rural Texas is what keeps putting King in the crosshairs of the radicals. King has a record that aligns with Trump, Abbott, and Patrick about 97 or 98 percent of the time. But occasionally, the needs of rural Texans in the Panhandle are different from the wants and priorities of the nationalist billionaires who own our governor and lieutenant governor.

I don’t agree with anyone 100 percent all the time. You don’t either. I certainly don’t want my state representative rubber-stamping the desires of a billionaire over our best interests. You shouldn’t either.

Now, comes John Browning. I’ve met him a couple of times, and he seems like a decent fellow. He recognizes the importance of community newspapers, and I appreciate that. He says a lot of the right things, but then he contradicts himself sometimes. At a stop in Memphis recently he said he wants to ban tax abatements in Texas totally for any reason, and then in the next breath he talked about “local control” and how we need more local control. Well, tax abatements are approved by local officials, so which is it? Are we going to shackle local leaders or are we going to allow them to lead and be regulated by the local voters who put them in power?

Browning is also a deeply religious man. I have no problem with that… until it starts to drive state policy. As an elected official – at any level – you take an oath to uphold the Constitution, which protects everyone – Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, agnostic, atheist, and everything in between. Liberty belongs to everyone.

But the biggest problem with John Browning’s campaign isn’t even coming from him personally, it’s coming from the political action committees who support him. They are the ones who are shoving your mailbox full of postcards and flyers depicting Ken King as a radical leftist promoting transgender boogeymen and now trying very hard to tie to “Muslims.” They use words like “grooming” and try to paint King as some sort of pervert. It’s disgusting and offensive, and it’s being done in John Browning’s name.

Ken King is a good man. He stands up for what he thinks is right. He uses his influence to try to steer legislation and policy in a direction that protects or benefits rural Texas. Rural healthcare, public education, community colleges, and rural fire departments are just some of what King has fought for even when it was not a priority or was even contrary to the priorities of state leaders.

Voters need to ask themselves, “Do I want someone who will just follow the leader, or do I want someone who will stand up for me and lead? Do I want a ‘yes man’ or a statesman?” Do not be misled by the lies in the mail. Ken King is one of the few people in Austin who will fight for rural Texans, and he has the connections, the conviction, and the know-how to represent us best.

Meanwhile…

Donley County voters have some important decisions to make right here at home. Three candidates are running for treasurer, and two candidates are running for a commissioner’s seat. All of those candidates are Republicans with no one running for those offices on the other side.

That’s something to keep in mind when some Republicans are agitating for “closed primaries.” Currently anyone can vote in the Republican Primary or in the Democratic Primary. You can’t vote in both primaries in the same election cycle, but you don’t have to register as a member of either party. Rural elections are often decided in the primaries. Forty years ago, they were decided in Donley County in the Democratic Primary. Regardless, all voters should have an opportunity to decide their local representation, and that can only happen in open primaries.